


The morning after

by FreeShavocadoo



Category: HiGH&LOW (Movies), HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Introspection, Multi, Polyamory, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 21:07:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15033341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeShavocadoo/pseuds/FreeShavocadoo
Summary: “You gonna’ go talk to Jesse?” Pearl looks up at Pho with a look of amazement, shaking his head in disbelief. “You know what he’s like after drinking, man. The guys a machine on the night and the terminator the morning after.”Pho chuckles, just patting Pearl’s head in a simple display of affection. Really, Pho couldn’t help but appreciate the ease with which the group had accepted him. When Jesse had spoken about the Mighty Warriors in Rasen, Pho hadn’t thought much of them beyond being pleased that Jesse had someone to go back to. He couldn’t help but feel envious of the connection Jesse seemed to have with each of them, all bound by a love for music, survival and evolution.





	The morning after

Stepping out into fresh air didn’t seem to have lost its novelty just yet, and Pho intended to savour every last second he got to spend in the open air without having to look up and see barbed wire fences. It was a beautiful day, after all. Although it was the middle of winter, the sun shone down brightly and the breeze wasn’t as unforgiving as it could be. The walk back to the Funk Jungle was a quiet one, almost unnervingly so when Pho acknowledged the absence of dancing and an obnoxious leopard print coat from his peripheral vision and the sound of humming from his ears.

“Yo, Pho!” Pearl greeted him from the doors, forever talkative and never quiet. “Nice day, huh?” He inquires, although Pho doesn’t doubt for one second that he wouldn’t take it personally if he didn’t get a response. After all, Pearl doesn’t see a lack of response as a lack of conversation, opting instead to accept micro-movements as some form of a reply.

“Yeah.” Pho nods, noting the way Pearl seemed to be humming an off-key version of a track that 9 was working on. It seemed to be a recurring trait for everybody around here to be in some constant state of song or dance.

“You gonna’ go talk to Jesse?” Pearl looks up at Pho with a look of amazement, shaking his head in disbelief. “You know what he’s like after drinking, man. The guys a machine on the night and the terminator the morning after.”

Pho chuckles, just patting Pearl’s head in a simple display of affection. Really, Pho couldn’t help but appreciate the ease with which the group had accepted him. When Jesse had spoken about the Mighty Warriors in Rasen, Pho hadn’t thought much of them beyond being pleased that Jesse had someone to go back to. He couldn’t help but feel envious of the connection Jesse seemed to have with each of them, all bound by a love for music, survival and evolution.

Last night was an amusing one and Pho couldn’t help but smile at the notion that the only reason he wasn’t passed out beside Jesse was because he’d been too busy watching his new family. They were quite the sight to see. Ice loved to take the night at his own pace, taking time to go around and speak to the regulars and check on Sarah at the bar. Sarah, as usual, was drinking upwards of five men under the table, happy to watch the chaos unfolding on the dancefloor with a slightly bemused look on her face that only shifted when she looked at Ice with utter adoration. Ryu had decided to visit, choosing to sit upstairs with a bottle to himself until he was dragged out of his throne by Ice, who insisted he danced with him- much to everybody’s amusement. It was then he decided to surprise everybody by kissing Ice without a care in the world, wrapped around him like a vice and glaring at anybody who dared to step too close to them.

Bernie and Pearl were inseparable, tangled round each-other in a dark corner. Pho couldn’t tell half the time if they were making out or dancing, but it didn’t help that the two couldn’t keep their hands off one another at the best of times. When Bernie lifts his head for two seconds of valuable air though, he gifts Pho with an excitable wave. 9 and Brown seemed to be clicking nicely, both with their ears to a set of headphones, no doubt sampling one of the new tracks. 9 seemed to encourage Brown’s reckless energy, hollering at him as he cheered along with the music, backflipping off one of the speakers onto the dancefloor.

It was always Jesse that Pho couldn’t keep his eyes off. Always the life of the party, strutting around in his usual display of pride and arrogance. The energy that surrounded him always seemed to pull everybody in, and Jesse seemed to revel in the attention, swaying and dancing around the entire floor until he was surrounded. Pho loved the way his eyes seemed to twinkle when he was dancing, the way his skin would reflect the club lights so beautifully, not an imperfection in sight. He’d grin and drink every single shot that was brought to him and continue dancing until the last person left, usually sauntering over to Pho and demanding that he be carried to bed immediately.

Pearl wasn’t wrong about Jesse though. If there is one thing Pho is certain of, it’s that Jesse will be in no mood to be woken up after a night of drinking. Pho was always amused by Jesse’s need to live life in excess, always being the last one on the dancefloor, the last one drinking at the bar.

Walking up the stairs to the private rooms at the Funk Jungle was always an obstacle course, various objects and people scattered around the stairs and hallways in different states of undress and tiredness.

“Yo, Pho, man!” Brown practically skips out from one of the rooms, Pho’s eyes lingering on the doorway momentarily before the realisation hits that Brown has most definitely spent the night with Bernie and Pearl. Brown looks momentarily startled by Pho’s laugh, before he jumps on Pho and starts ruffling his hair violently. “You ain’t got no room to judge me, man,” he whines, placing a teasing kiss on Pho’s cheek, “good luck with Jesse, though.”

Before Pho even has a chance to inquire about what kind of a night Brown has had, the door shuts behind him again. Pearl’s neon jacket lies forgotten outside the door, alongside Bernie’s shoes. Brown’s floral shirt is tied around the door handle, and Pho sniggers at the thought of those three drunk idiots assuming that this was the most subtle and hilarious ‘do not disturb’ sign in the world.

Continuing down the hall, he’s greeted quietly by Sarah, who simply nods and continues on her way, stepping over the various items without a second glance. Pho can’t help but think that she’s probably the closest thing to a kindred spirit he’s got here- content to be quiet and let their louder counterparts do the talking.

When he reaches the door, he opens it slowly and quietly, stepping in as though he’s attempting to rob the place. The room is more or less how it was when he dropped Jesse off last night.

_“Don’t leaveeeee me!” Jesse whines as he’s being placed onto the bed, arms still wrapped tightly around Pho’s neck. He yanks violently until Pho is half on top of him, Jesse looking both pleased and smug at his handywork._

_“I’m not gonna leave you, idiot.” Pho replies, flicking Jesse’s head gently, all too aware of the headache he’ll probably have tomorrow morning._

_“Ever?” Jesse teases, eyes twinkling as he wrestles Pho’s fur coat off, opting to wrap it around his own half-naked body instead._

_Pho smiles to himself, wrapping his arms around Jesse’s waist and placing a kiss on his shoulder, smiling even more when Jesse sighs to himself and runs his fingers through Pho’s hair. “Not ever.” Pho whispers into Jesse’s neck, noticing the hitch in Jesse’s breathing and the way he wraps himself even tighter around Pho._

Jesse lies in the middle of the bed, sprawled out underneath Pho’s fur coat, his face pressed entirely into the pillow. If Pho didn’t know him as well as he does, he’d assume he was dead after suffocating himself in the pillow.

“You better have a good reason for waking me up at the ass-crack of dawn.” Jesse’s head lifts slightly, his hair wild and his voice husky from sleep and the abundance of alcohol he’d consumed the night before. Pho can’t help but feel slightly guilty at how attractive he finds Jesse the morning after drinking, because whilst Jesse is too busy regretting his life choices, Pho is enjoying the sight of Jesse with messy hair, next to no clothes and a raspy voice.

“C’mere.” Jesse growls, rolling onto his side to watch Pho walk over, discarding his shoes and jacket on the way there. As he lies beside Jesse he can’t help but marvel at the sight of him, all inked skin and golden jewellery over hard muscle. He stretches like a cat before curling his legs around Pho, resting his head on the chest he’s become so accustomed to.

“How you feeling?” Pho questions, running his fingers through Jesse’s hair slowly, appreciating the way Jesse seems to melt under his touch. He swears for a second he hears him purring.

“How do I fucking look like I’m feeling?” Jesse groans, moving his head up to look at Pho with an expression of utter self-pity.

“I can’t tell, you always look good.” Pho grins, knowing that Jesse will pretend like he’s on deaths door but will always be easily swayed by a simple compliment. Right on cue, Jesse smiles briefly before returning to his expression of pantomime sorrow. Pho really ought to tell him to grow up, but really, he’s too in love with every inch of Jesse’s soul to tell him to stop acting like an entitled brat.

“I do, don’t I?” Jesse mumbles, putting his head back on Pho’s chest, grabbing Pho’s free hand in his own and squeezing gently. “You can wake me up in a few hours, sweetheart, I’ll thank you for carrying me upstairs.”

Pho resists the urge to laugh when mere seconds later, Jesse is lightly snoring into his chest and drooling slightly, mere moments after his promise of sexual favours. Pho just smiles at the sight and makes a promise to limit that amount of alcohol that reaches Jesse from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt "You better have a good reason for waking me up at the ass-crack of dawn."  
> I hadn't really thought much of the Mighty Warriors in comparison to the other groups at first, but I've since warmed up to them, so I hope this is a good read :).


End file.
